The world today is centered around its mobile users. People embrace their smartphones so much that they form over 50% of the total internet traffic in the world today. For companies, this is a huge change โ if your digital marketing plan is not focused on mobile, you are probably losing a lot of opportunities to promote your brand and connect with the target audience.ย Mobilization of internet practices is not an option anymore. In this article, we present the arguments for the necessity of mobile optimization in your marketing strategy and tell how you can prepare your brand for such a mobile-centric world.ย
There is an Increase in Mobile Usage
According to estimates, by 2024 the mobile share of all web traffic is predicted to increase such that it will constitute, approximately, 58 of all the visits to websites. The development of smartphones and tablets has made many people engage in a lot of web surfing, shopping, and conducting business with mobile phones as opposed to any other means. For example, if a website is not optimized for mobile devices, the target audience will be kept off before even interacting with the brand. Mobile users can also be kept away due to slow website loading speeds and texts that are difficult to read and navigate through, thus high bounce rates and low conversions.ย ย
Action Tip:
Make sure that your website is mobile responsive meaning that it adjusts to various screen sizes correctly.ย
Use different mobile and tablet devices to check if the siteโs performance and working is consistent and comfortable.
Sites that are mobile friendly are preferred by Google
Most recently, Google moved towards a different strategy, which affected SEO strategies and renewed the importance of mobile optimization – the introduction of mobile first indexing in 2019. As the name implies, mobile first indexing means that google will consider a siteโs mobile version first for indexing/ranking purposes. This is even applied to those using a desktop device. Poorly optimized sites, especially the mobile version of a website, can have negative consequences on few search results achieving appropriate incidence rates. Thus, resulting in loss in organic visibility.
Action Tip:
Google and Mobile-Friendly Test gives insight on how compatible a site is on mobile devices.
Place more emphasis on mobile SEO by increasing speed, giving short meta description tags and using local keywords that can bring in mobile searchers on the move.
Engagement Is Higher with Enhanced User Experience (UX)
Every digital marketing strategy has user experience as one of its core principles. Mobile users want websites and content to load quickly and be seamless and straightforward to use. If they come across loading screens that take forever or users have to deal with too much content at once, they will probably leave โ and leave quickly. Interestingly, 53% of smartphone users are likely to quit a site that takes more than three seconds to load.ย
As a result, adapting your site to mobile device will not only make it more user-friendly for them, but also improve interaction, increase the duration of users on the site, as well as their conversion.
Action Tip:
Organize your mobile design in a simple way with legible typeface, large enough buttons for a touch screen, and no clutter on the screen.
Reduce page load speeds by optimizing image files and code.
4. Mobile-Optimized Email Marketing Boosts Open Rates
Email marketing still stands as an indispensable aspect of digital marketing but if your emails are not properly tuned for mobile devices then a large part of the audience could be lost. It is mind blowing that almost half 46% of all email opens occur in a mobile device which means that a user without mobile friendly email designs may suffer low engagement, high unread emails and lots of sales opportunities wasted.ย
Action Tip:ย
Use templates that are responsive to screen sizes and more so ensure that the Call to action (CTA) buttons are large enough to be pressed with ease from a mobile device.ย
Simple a straight to the point subject lines should be used in the email while the content of the email should be short and filled with text in form of bullet points and very few paragraphs.
Changing Characters of Consumers- Mobile Commerce
Without a doubt, mobile commerce (or m-commerce) is increasingly becoming popular over the years. According to estimates, because more people transacts business off their smartphones every year, the wise global mobile e-commerce dynamics will amount to a whopping figure of $3.56 trillion by the year 2024. This just goes to show how more establishments just have to offer mobile shopping as a must rather than an optional or an alternative service.
customers will abandon and go to complete the purchase if the mobile check out is difficult, long or unsafe. There are many mobile shoppers but the main priority in optimizing advanced mobile site is very simple its for secure and fast transactions.ย
Action Tip:ย
Optimize the mobile checkout process and limit the number of steps involved.
Adopt mobile payment systems such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and payment service such as PayPal for easy and quick checkout process.
6. Mobile Optimization Improves Local Search Visibility
The local search space is seeing tremendous growth with regard to mobile adoption. 76% of the individuals who do a local search over their smartphones will visit the business the next day. Whether itโs a restaurant in the vicinity or a shop or a service provider, the average individual will more often than not, seek the answer from his or her handheld device. Local consumers ready to act may be potential patrons for your business if only it is not mobile optimized.
Action Tip:
Enhance the Google My Business profile with the appropriate business details, working hours, and feedback from customers.
Incorporate location-specific keywords within the content of the businessโs website and its meta tags in order to enhance visibility for local searches.
There is a continuous increase in the Effectiveness of Mobile Ads
Far too often, the Enhanced Mobile advertising takes the lead over the desktop advertising. Users of social media networks like Facebook, Instagram and Google have what are known as mobile ads and these come in forms such as stories, carousels and search ads which all embrace mobile functionality. This enhances the level of interaction leading to increased sales via conversion rates.
Action Tip:
Utilize ad formats that are adaptive to mobile devices for instance, vertical videos or swipeable carousel ads on social media sites.
Make sure that the landing pages connected from mobile advertisements are mobile device friendly to prevent the loss of prospects.
The Mobile-First Approach to Social Media
The issue of social media examining the culture has become sensational in the 21st century as innumerable social media platforms have emerged starting with Facebook, moving to Instagram and TikTok among others. Most of the people accessing these platforms use mobile devices. In fact, 80% of the time spent in social media is on the mobile. In this regard, if your digital marketing plan includes the use of social media (and it must!), the question of mobile optimization becomes critical in ensuring that such channels work seamlessly.
Action Tip:
Develop audience engaging content which includes vertical shots or videos, images suited for these social sites, and short overviews that correspond with such platforms.
Make sure that all of the links that go out from the social platforms lead to the mobile version of the landing page.
Final Thoughts: The Mobile Strategy Is the Digital Strategy
Mobile optimization is not simply something that businesses should consider when trying to market their products; it is at the very heart of any digital strategies. There are various strategies companies need to employ to design mobile strategies which include optimizing the website to be responsive and developing email campaigns that are mobile-first. And in a world where all customers no longer appreciate delays in getting products or services and they demand them the same way regardless of the devices they are using, integrating mobile in any interaction with oneโs audience becomes imperative to remain relevant and reach out to your audience in every environment.
Is your performance marketing model optimized for mobile devices? The Digital Mind can help you with optimizing the website, the ads and the content, focusing on the mobile aspect. Contact us today to get started!